Turkish billionaires put mark on Forbes list

Turkey has made a remarkable advance, according to Steve Forbes, who spoke at a press conference in New York on Wednesday. “Compared to last year, only seven Middle Eastern billionaires were added to the list, rising the overall number for the region to 65,” Forbes said. “The real success here belongs to Turkey, whose number of billionaires rose to 28,” the daily Hürriyet quoted him as saying.

Speaking at the conference, Forbes senior editor Luisa Kroll echoed Forbes’ positive comments regarding Turkey. “While its region was deep in depression, Turkey showed an amazing performance. It was a successful return to [the performance of] 2008, which was one of the best years for the Turkish economy.”

Rich and mysterious

Two Turkish figures on the list are a mystery to the Turkish public, however. Mehmet Rüstü Basaran, 773rd on the global list, is worth $1.3 billion, while Mustafa Latif Topbas ranked 937th with $1 billion.

Basaran leads the Habas Group, a leading gas company which also has interests in steel and banking.

Topbas, whose net worth was $500 million last year, is the biggest shareholder of BIM, a fast-growing supermarket chain. He has a 17.98 percent share in the chain, which has 2,665 supermarkets in Turkey and a market value of 5.3 billion Turkish Liras. Topbas is so unknown to the public that Forbes could not find a photo of him to publish, Hürriyet reported.